Multi-contact arrangement for multi-switches



May 10, 1960 J. BERNUTZ 2,936,340

MULTI-CONTACT ARRANGEMENT FOR MULTI-SWITCHES Filed April 3, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.7

INVENTOR J. B E R N UT Z ATTORNEY y 0, 1960 J. BERNUTZ 2,936,340

MULTI-CONTACT ARRANGEMENT FOR MULTI-SWITCHES Filed April 3, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR J. BERNUTZ BY I ATTORNEY Unitcd States. ice

MULTI-CONTACT ARRANGEMENT FOR MULTI-SWITCHES Johannes Bemntz, Ludwigsburg-Hoheneck, Germany, as-

signor to International Standard Electric Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Application April 3, 1956, Serial No. 575,823 Claims priority, application Germany April 6, 1955 9 Claims. (Cl. 179-2754) contacts by means of select and hold bars. Each movable contact with its cooperating fixed contacts are in reality individual switch units and are connected by a multiple connection to corresponding contacts by an external multiple connection. These corresponding contacts are connected to a single conductor and there thus arises the problem of connecting individual contacts with the multiple connection. In the prior art such connections with the multiple were made by soldering or welding. The use of SQl1l: lIl the past has led to faults due to the inevitable dropping of pieces of solder by the installer arid'wh'ich drops of solder acted to short-circuit other multipleconnections. In orderto avoid the difliculties encountered in the prior art as aforestated, the invention was made and it utilizes non-soldered connections in a crossbar switch pile-up.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a contact structure for a cross-bar switch which has a contact carrying portion connected to a multiple carrying portion made of insulating material and provided with connecting conductors which are not required to be sol.- dered or otherwise welded.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a multiple carrying portion having a plurality of contact carrying portions extending therefrom and made integrally 3 made.

assent Patented May- 10, 1960 Referring now to Fig. 1 there is shown a side elevation of a single multiple carrying element 1 having extending laterally therefrom a plurality of spaced contact carrying extension arms 1a. The element 1 and its arms 10 are made of insulating material and the arms 1a are adapted to be resilient in a plane normal to the longitudinal axis of the element 1. The several portions 1a are separated by spaces 2 and 3 respectively to give independ enceto' each contact carrying portion. Each element 1 carries on one surface thereof a plurality of spaced electrical conductors 4 applied thereto by any suitable means including printing, metallization or by any suitable adhe' sive. Branching from respective of said conductor-s 4, there are shown conductors 5 which are applied to the contact-carrying portions 1a by the same means utilized for the application of the conductors 4. The conductors 5 are joined to conductors 4 at points 5a by any suitable means including printing, riveting, etc.

1 The free ends of the several contact carrying portions 1a are split to provide a pair of utilization portions 1b and 1c by reason of the bifurcation 1d. Each portion 1b and 1c carries a contact 6, each contact being connectedto the conductor 5 by the forked arrangement clearly shown in Fig. 1. The contacts 6 may extend on one side of the contact carrying portions 1a or on both sides thereof depending upon the switching function required.

- ,The. elasticity of the portions It: should be such that the portions 1a are able to be deflected without causing undue fatigue or stress to the material of which they are Fig, 2, is a'topview of a group of multiple carrying elements supported in spaced condition by means of a supporting frame 9 having a plurality of spaced recesses 9a each recess adapted to grip an element 1 therein. The

i supports 9 are provided with a plurality of spaced parallel with the slots 9a of the support 9. The slots 9a and 10a therewith, of insulating material and having a metallic conductor connecting the contact portion with the multiple conductor carrying portion, the contact carrying portion having sufiicient resilience to be urged into-contact with a cooperating fixed contact.

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood, by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1- is a view partly in section of a single multiple carrying element with its lateral extending contact carrying portions; g Fig. 2 is a top view partly in section of a plurality of multiple carrying elements showing the method used for maintaining separation thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view partly in section of a single multiple carrying element and one of its contact portions showing the connection of the contacts with the multiple;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the holding springs to support the combs carrying the contact extension arms.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of a part of the actuating bar in connection with the combs and the selecting finger.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of part of the bridge frame, in which the actuating bar slides.

serve to grip the main portions of the multiple carrying elements 1 in a spaced relation to each other as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The spacing between the several elements 1 enables the conductors 4 to be carried by the elements 1 insulated from adjacent elements. The support 9 is further provided with a pair of apertures 12 in the main portion thereof and which apertures are adapted to receive a pair of lugs of a spring holding member 12a whose function will be later explained. The contact carrying portions 10 are carried by a comb 11 (Figs. 2, 5 and.6) which has a plurality of spaced cooperating slots 1-1a cut in one edge thereof which are in register with the slots 9a and 10a. The comb 11 is supported at either extremity by the springs 1211 which fit into the cooperating apertures 11b (Figs. 2 and 4). On the opposite edge of the comb 11 there is provided a stop 17 '(Figs. 1 and 6) and a part 11b (Figs. 2, 4 and 6) with which'a selecting finger 15 is adapted to cooperate. The selecting finger 15 is mounted by means of the usual damping spring 15a to a selecting bar 16 (Fig. 1 and 2). When the selecting bar is operated in the one position, the end of the selecting finger 15 enters the part of the upper comb 11b (Fig. 5) but when the selecting bar 16 is operated in opposite direction, the end of the selecting finger 15 enters the lower comb. Cooperating with the selecting finger 15 I provide an actuating bar 13 (Figs. 2 and 5) which bar is provided with driving parts 1.9 (Fig. 5) and through which the end of selecting finger 15 is adapted to extend. The method of selection and actuation of the selecting bar and the actuating bar is well known to those skilled in the telephone art.

Fig. 3 shows in greater detail the structure of a portion of a carrying element 1 and one of its extension contact carrying portions 1a. A pair of contacts 6 are interconnected on opposite sides of the portion 1a and are electrically connected to one of the multiples 4 by means of the conductor 5 which extends along the length of the extension 1a to the point where a suitable connection to the conductor 5 is made by means of the aperture 4b through which a rivet or other electrical conducting means of fastening may be utilized to electrically connect the multiple 4 with the conductor 5. In Fig. 3 there is schematically shown a pair of fixed contacts 19 which cooperate with the contacts 6 in a manner well known by those skilled in the art.

The extension 1a is provided with a hollowed portion 14 as shown in Fig. 3 to reduce the cross-section of the material at that point. This narrow cross-section at point 14 renders the extension 1a resilient. If desired another hollowed portion 14 might be applied to the opposite side of element 1a, the only criterion being that the material has suificient cross-section to withstand the stress of continued flexing in either direction during the operation of the contact carrying arm as explained above.

The multiple wires 4 and the conductors 5 may be printed on the elements 1 and 1a. The advantage of carrying the conductors 5 on the side of the elements 1 opposite from the multiple conductors 4 lies in the fact that the conductors 5 may be extended to any of the four multiples without having to cross intervening multiples, thus eliminating the necessity for insulating the conductors 5 to electrically isolate same from the intervening conductors.

Fig. 4 shows the holding springs supporting the combs at the points 11b. The actuating bar 13 (Fig. 5), when being operated slides on the bridge frame 18 (Fig. 6).

While I have described above the principles of my invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of my invention as set forth in the objects thereof and in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A contact structure for a cross-bar switch comprising a plurality of individual switch units, each of said units comprising a multiple conductor-carrying element having a plurality of laterally extending contact carrying portions, each portion spaced from the other and having a resilience in a direction normal to the longitudinal axis of said element, first electrical conductive means carried by each of said elements and second electrical conductive means carried by each of said portions, means for connecting said first means with said second means, means for supporting said individual units in a unitary structure, and means for selectively actuating said contact carrying portions.

2. A contact structure for a crossbar switch comprising a plurality of individual switch units, each of said units being of insulating material and carrying thereon multiple conductors in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said units, said units further comprising a plurality of laterally extending contact-carrying por- 4 tions, each portion spaced from the other and having a resilience in a direction normal to said longitudinal axis, electrical conductive means carried by each of said portions, means for connecting said conductive means with said multiple conductors, means for supporting said individual units in a unitary structure, and means for selectively actuating said contact carrying portions.

3. A contact structure as claimed in claim 2 wherein said contact carrying portions include electrical contacts situated adjacent the free ends of said portions.

4. A contact structure as claimed in claim 3 wherein said multiple conductors comprise a plurality of spaced, parallel electrical conductors extending along one side of said element in parallel relation with its longitudinal axis.

5. A contact structure as claimed in claim 4, wherein said electrical conductive means comprises an electrical conductor extending along the length of a contact-carrying portion on a side thereof opposite the side of said element carrying said multiple conductors, said first mentioned conductor electrically connected with the contact carried by said portion.

'6. A contact structure as claimed in claim 5 wherein said means for connecting said multiple conductors with said' conductive means comprises an electrically conductive rivet extending through said element at a point coordinate with individual of said multiple conductors and said conductive means, respectively.

7. A contact structure as claimed in claim 6 wherein said multiple conductors and said conductive means are printed on each of said elements and portions.

8. A contact structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means for supporting said units comprises a rakeshaped support extending transversely across said elements, said support having a plurality of spaced slots in a side thereof intermediate adjacent teeth of the rake, each slot having a width substantially equal to the thickness of an element, the teeth of the rake extending in a direction opposite said contact-carrying portions and an auxiliary support member extending transversely across said elements, said auxiliary member having a plurality of spaced slots in one side thereof, said support member fastened to the outer portion of the teeth of said rake to form a closed rectangle, with its slots in register with corresponding slots in said rake-shaped support, each of said elements adapted to fit within corresponding slots of said support and said auxiliary support.

'9. A contact structure as claimed in claim 1, wherein said means for selectively actuating said contact-carrying portions comprises a card of insulating material extending transversely across said portions, said card having a plurality of spaced slots in a side thereof each of said portions adapted to fit within a different one of said slots, and resilient means for supporting said card from said sup port means, said card adapted to be actuated in a direction transverse of said portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,069,171 Merkel Jan. 26, 1937 2,134,945 Howe Nov. 1, 1938 2,616,994 Luhn Nov. 4, 1952 2,718,559 Lundkvist et al. Sept. 20, 1955 

